Most lighted signs are either made from neon tubing or back lit translucent signs with fluorescent or incandescent lights behind the translucent sign. While neon lights have an almost indefinite life, such signs are not very bright and typically limited in the information they can convey, because of the necessity of bending the glass tubing into the shape of the desired letters. Fluorescent back lit signs can be made as bright as desired, but the fluorescent lights have a limited life and, especially for large signs, are very expensive to replace. Incandescent bulbs have even a shorter life than fluorescent bulbs and also give off more heat and use more electricity than fluorescent lights.
LEDs are replacing incandescent bulbs in many applications, such as traffic lights and vehicle brake lights. LEDs have the advantage of very low power consumption combined with very long life. Super bright white LEDs are expensive and, since a large number of LEDs is required to provide sufficient light, result in an initial cost which can be prohibitive for many signs.
It is an object of the invention to provide a multi-colored LED lighted sign which is capable of producing letters having more than one color while still utilizing LEDs of a lower cost than super bright white LEDs.
The present invention is for a multi-colored LED lighted sign, having at least one peripheral translucent wall, fabricated from a translucent material having a first color. An inner LED holding frame has a back wall supporting a first plurality of LEDs emitting a second color. The back wall is formed outwardly to an outer flange, which is positioned over the outer peripheral edge of the peripheral translucent wall. An outer translucent face plate is fabricated from a translucent material having a second color different from the first color. The face plate is held against the outer flange of the LED holding frame. A second plurality of LEDs emitting a first color is supported by a support frame held at the inner peripheral edge of the translucent wall. Preferred colors include red and yellow LEDs, which are far less expensive than white LEDs.